Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 8 November 2007 - Bavarian Lager v Commission
(Access to documents - Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 - Documents relating to proceedings for failure to fulfil obligations - Decision refusing access - Protection of physical persons in relation to processing of personal data - Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 - Concept of private life)
Language of the case: English
Parties
Applicant: The Bavarian Lager Co. Ltd (Clitheroe, United Kingdom) (represented by: initially J. Pearson and C. Bright, and subsequently by J. Webber and M. Readings, solicitors)
Defendant: Commission of the European Communities (represented by: C. Docksey and P. Aalto, Agents)
Intervener in support of the applicant: European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), (represented by: H. Hijmans, Agent)
Re:
Application for annulment of the Commission Decision of 18 March 2004 refusing an application by the applicant for full access to the minutes of a meeting held in connection with proceedings for failure to fulfil Treaty obligations and for a declaration that the Commission wrongly terminated the proceedings brought against the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland under Article 169 of the EC Treaty (now Article 226 EC)
Operative part
The Court:
Annuls the Commission's decision of 18 March 2004, rejecting an application for access to the full minutes of the meeting of 11 October 1996, containing all the names;
Orders the Commission to pay the costs incurred by The Bavarian Lager Co. Ltd;
Orders the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) to bear his own costs.
____________1 - OJ C 201, 7.8.2004.